Artistic,Feature,of,Architecture,in,Harbin_in spite of
时间：2019-04-17 03:28:42 来源：雅意学习网 本文已影响 人 
Abstract Architecture in Harbin boosts unique artistic feature. In this paper, the cultural features, the reasons of their formation and the main styles of architecture in Harbin will be respectively analyzed. Through analysis, the conclusion is derived that the architecture in Harbin is featured by diversity, practicality, and flexibility. Four typical architecture styles in Harbin are Russian, Syncretism, Byzantine and Art Nouveau. Due to the exotic features of its architecture, Harbin is nicknamed as Oriental Moscow and Oriental Paris.
Key Words: Harbin""s architecture, cultural features, styles
Harbin is a city where East meets West. Starting as a center for Russians to construct Middle East Railway in 1898①, Harbin saw a swarm of westerners coming, which in turn, contributed to the diverse foreign features of its architecture.
1. Cultural features of architecture in Harbin
The general features of the architecture in Harbin can be summarized as diversity, practicality and flexibility. Diversity is illustrated by the Russian style, syncretism, art-nouveau and Chinese Baroque architecture in Harbin. The practical feature can be seen from Harbin""s Russian architecture, which was built with thick walls, small windows with warm colors to adapt to the cold weather in Harbin. Even though it was mainly built by foreign architects, architecture in Harbin absorbed local factors as well, such as the Chinese Baroque architecture, incorporating both western Baroque and traditional Chinese architecture features.
A host of factors contributed to such features of architecture in Harbin. Located on the border of China, Harbin was away from the cultural center, and easy to be influenced by and open to the nearby Russian culture and other western cultures. Besides, China’s late Qing dynasty, corrupted and weak, could not defend itself from the foreign colonizers, first the Russians and later the Japanese. Moreover, the openness of the city attracted many foreign business people, who, in turn, influenced the styles of the architecture here.
2. Major styles of Architecture in Harbin
The architecture of Harbin embodies diverse styles, including traditional Russian architecture, syncretism architecture, Byzantine architecture and Art-Nouveau architecture, etc.
The most typical architecture in Harbin is Russian architecture, which mainly includes constructions made in wood and in brick. Russian brick architecture comprises large churches, schools, office buildings, for example, the Middle East Railway Central Hospital. The wooden Russian architecture is mainly some small orthodox churches and public buildings, such as Saint-Nicolas Church and the Riverside Restaurant. Syncretism architecture imitates any kind of architecture styles and absorbs some features of different architecture to form a new style. It starts from the first half of 19 century and lasts until the beginning of the 20th century in Europe. It came to Harbin at a later period, and presented different forms here, including classicism, medieval, and renaissance syncretism architecture. Some examples of Syncretism architecture in Harbin are Manchu Central Bank Harbin Branch, Eastern Province Special Zone Library and Nialavi Church in East Street.②
Byzantine architecture is featured by its vaulted dome. St. Sophia Church, the landmark of Harbin is a typical Byzantine architecture. Built initially in 1903 by Russians for the purpose of religion, and restored in the following decades, St. Sophia Church develops into the Architecture Museum of Harbin today. It is brick and wood structure with a dome in the shape of an onion, impressing people with its magnificence.
Starting from the beginning of 20th century, Art Nouveau has been popular in Harbin till 1930s.③ Some typical Art Nouveau architecture is the Moscow Shopping Arcade, the old Harbin Railway Station and Modern Hotel.
Moreover, many other styles can be seen in Harbin, such as Baroque, Modernist, and Japanese architecture, etc.
In a word, featured by diversity, practicality and flexibility, the architecture in Harbin is mainly composed of four types, namely, Russian, Syncretism, Byzantine and Art Nouveau. Due to its variety of western styles and features, Harbin is nicknamed as Oriental Moscow and Oriental Paris.
Reference
[1] Hou Youbin, Overall Review of Architecture in Contemporary China [M]. Beijing: China Architecture Industry Press, 1992.
[2] Chang Huaisheng, Architectural Art of Harbin [M]. Harbin: Heilongjiang Science and Technology Press, 1990.
[3] Liu Songfu, Development Track of Western Modern Architecture in Harbin [J]. Journal of Harbin Institute of Technology, Vol. 34 No.3, 2002(6).
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